Description: A wooden mold used to form plastic containers for corn syrup. The mold is made using two pieces of wood glued together. The mold is cylindrical and narrows at the neck. The bottom is stamped with the code "SK-4802-1" and also has a diamond shape with a "D" in the centre and an "H" beside it. The edges of the mold are rounded and smooth. It has been varnished and has a shiny surface. The centre top area looks darker as thought it has been burnt. There is a drilled hole in the bottom of the mould. The wood is an orange colour which could be maple.
History: The St. Lawrence Starch Company was founded in 1889 by John Gray. It was a corn wet-milling operation with the purpose of producing starch and glucose from corn. Many of the product lines produced by St. Lawrence Starch are still in use today such as Durham Starch and Bee Hive Corn Syrup. Food products were only a small portion of the business done at St. Lawrence Starch as starch is an additive in many industrial products such as cement and plastic.
St. Lawrence Starch was located at the foot of Hurontario Street at Lakeshore Road in Port Credit. It was a major industry for this area. The milling operation closed down in 1990 due to competition and high tariffs on corn. In 1993 St. Lawrence Starch announced a marketing alliance with Cargill, Minneapolis, which provides Cargill with exclusive sales services of corn sweeteners and corn starches in the Canadian Market. For more information on the St Lawrence Starch Company, see "St Lawrence Starch 100 Years 1889-1989".